


SwanQueen 100

by KyaniteD



Series: Worlds in 100 Words [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Animal Transformation, Blindness, Crack, Dark Emma, Dark Henry, Domestic Fluff, Drabble Collection, F/F, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Fluffy Bunnies, Fun, Humor, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Valentine's Day, Wordcount: 100
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-03-21 17:36:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 3,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3701013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyaniteD/pseuds/KyaniteD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p> </p>
<p>  <em>"[...] an experiment to see how much he could omit, making the listener fill in the gaps of harmony and counterpoint for him or herself." <span class="small">(<a href="http://www.cello.org/newsletter/articles/bylsma.htm">Conversation with Anner Bylsma)</a></span></em></p>
<p> <span class="small"><a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3701013?view_full_work=true">Read as 'Entire Work'</a>.</span></p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Promotion

**Author's Note:**

> _All free for the taking if anyone wants to play with them, because I have more ideas than time to write._

* * *

 

“Sheriff Swan.”

“Mayor Mills.”

Regina nodded, accepting the offered chair. The table had been set as if for a special occasion, but all the holidays she could think of were either behind or ahead.

“What brings this about?”

Emma sat down and tugged a black box from the pocket of her tuxedo jacket.

“I want to propose... a promotion.”

“Emma, you’re the Sheriff, this is Storybrooke, I’m afraid you are already at the top of the ladder.”

Opening the box, Emma presented the sparkling metal inside to the mayor.

“I was rather thinking of a promotion from girlfriend to wife.” 

 

* * *

 


	2. True Love

 

* * *

 

Henry entered the house and found his mothers lounging on the couch, watching an old movie.

“Moms?”

“Hi kid!” Emma greeted him.

“Take off your shoes,” Regina reminded him.

“It’s Valentine’s Day, aren’t you supposed to be on a date or something?”

“Your mother doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day,” Emma answered.

“Why?”

“She thinks handing out fake hearts only proves fake love.”

“But you can’t give real hearts!”

Regina smirked mischievously. “Oh, but you can.”

“But only once,” Emma pointed out helpfully.

“That’s gross.”

“I thought it was rather sweet,” Emma smiled dreamily.

“What?” he asked.

“We celebrated Valentine’s Day. _Once_.”

* * *

 


	3. Ropes

 

* * *

 

For some time Emma had felt the thin tendrils winding around her wrists and ankles, slowly sneaking toward her heart.  
  
She knew that if they reached their target, they would turn into firmly attached strings, to be braided into ropes that would pull her into matters that were not her business.  
  
She had to cut them while they were still fresh.  
  
She could already feel the slight tug when she opened the doors to the mayor's office, the resistance when she unclipped the badge.  
  
She saw the surprise, rather than triumph, on the mayor's face when she said: "I quit."

 

* * *

 


	4. Roots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _May be read as companion to "Ropes"._

 

* * *

 

After Regina had taken in the damage to the apple tree, she knew she had to act quickly.  
  
Some of the new shoots on the felled branch might grow roots if she cut them while they were still fresh.  
  
**  
  
Before she leaves with Henry to bid Emma farewell, she examines the gallery of potted trees and picks up one with two soft leaf buds at the top.  
  
When they arrive at Emma's apartment, no one can say goodbye. Henry cries, and Regina shoves the plant into the blonde's arms.  
  
"You can't leave, Miss Swan. It seems you have roots now."

 

* * *

 


	5. Quick Study

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _ They're never easy, but with this one in particular I felt like [this](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gPVV_EveHd4/hqdefault.jpg). ___

 

* * *

 

"True love's kiss," Regina explains, "is not magic. It summons magic and concentrates it in a focal point."  
  
Emma grins and kisses her, with an open mouth and a swirling tongue, and when she lets go, she asks: "Like this?"  
  
Regina breathes desire as a warm flurry builds in her stomach. "N-not quite."  
  
But Emma knows and asks again, "So an act of true love- ?"  
  
"- a sacrifice, a powerful release of magic in a singular instant."  
  
"Oh like-," and a hand moves down toward soft dark curls.  
  
"-nnggh, _sacrifice_!"  
  
"I'm crazy for you," Emma whispers, "I will sacrifice my sanity."

 

* * *

 


	6. The Price of Love

 

* * *

 

"I- I don't understand it." Snow shook her head in puzzlement, observing the scene taking place across the street.  
  
"Love, like everything else in life, comes at a price," Gold's voice echoed behind her.

"Most pay with freedom, gladly, as freedom also means loneliness. Others trade riches, kingdoms, or-" he paused, then whispered, " _family_. But apparently, one of the hardest things to give up is revenge. Or - justice - , if you will," he said in a nonchalant tone.  
  
She looked at a pregnant Emma being helped into the car by Regina and Henry.  
  
"They made their choice. What will be yours?"

 

* * *

 


	7. Balance

 

* * *

 

Emma's love was fearless, strong, resilient. It was unconditional, because Emma had nothing to lose. When she opened her heart she would do so without any fear of loss, without any hope for gain. Her love was hopeless, desperate, resigned.  
  
Regina once loved with hope, she once loved with fear, and she once loved with indifference: She hoped for a future with Daniel, she feared to lose Henry, and when Emma finally kissed her, nothing else mattered.  
  
When Regina kissed her back, Emma was afraid of not being enough, yet she hoped to be everything, because she had gained trust.

 

* * *

 


	8. Dawn

 

* * *

 

 _"I just wanted to win. For once."_  
  
Regina was a loser.  
  
She lost her innocence to Snow White,  
her heart to Daniel, Daniel to Cora,  
her freedom to Leopold,  
her magic to the curse,  
the curse to Gold,  
Henry to Emma,  
  
and then Emma to her darkness. _Almost_.  
  
Emma, who stole apples, and glances and kisses and breaths, before stealing herself away in the mornings.  
Emma, who brought back tears, who brought back love, who brought back magic, and Henry, and light.

Emma, who clung to her as Regina lost herself in the Savior, savoring the one victory that mattered.

 

* * *

 


	9. Lost

 

* * *

 

Emma is a fantastic lay.  
  
Regina enjoys their encounters, both the quick and quiet ones in between and the loud and lengthy all-nighters.  
  
She hasn't had this much fun for as long as Emma had lived.  
  
The way Emma predicts, adjusts and responds with ease betrays that she is no virgin to anything.  
  
_For as long as Emma had lived_ \- Regina refuses to think about it.  
  
Until she catches a stray glance, void of anything.  
  
_"Practice makes perfect, my dear."_  
  
For a moment, her resolve breaks, and a tear makes a hasty escape, mourning the innocence lost to them both.

 

* * *

 


	10. Power I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _AU without magic. Continued in["Power"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4166094/chapters/9403449)_  
> 

 

* * *

 

Life with her mother and her husband taught Regina an important lesson: No one ever remained indifferent to power. In the end, there were only two options - _yield_ or _wield_. After indifference had destroyed her love and _yield_ had destroyed her hope, she chose _wield_ to save her life.  
  
But while power was impartial, man was not.  
  
A man seeking justice was brave, a man wielding knowledge was wise, and a man wielding power without compromise was unfaltering.  
  
A woman seeking justice was obsessed, a woman wielding knowledge was a witch, and a woman wielding power without compromise was evil.

 

* * *

 


	11. Power II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _A companion to Power I. Continued in["Power"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4166094/chapters/9403449)_  
> 

 

* * *

 

Regina was to be regent until Snow White became of age and was ready to take her seat on the throne.  
  
She tried to employ Cora's methods to breed some sense of responsibility and ambition into the girl. But she relented when it was obvious that the girl would never show interest beyond that in pretty flowers, pretty birds and pretty dresses, without ill will toward anyone or anything, just being light and fair and free.  
  
Snow did not yield to power, nor was she indifferent to it. She wielded her own kind, it just wasn't that of a sovereign.

 

* * *

 


	12. Power III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _Companion to Power I & II. Continued in ["Power"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4166094/chapters/9403449)_  
> 

 

* * *

 

Regina disapproved, but did not interfere, when Snow married a shepherd, who was equally ill-equipped and unsuitable for the throne as his wife.  
  
Regina's savior, her soulmate, the kindred spirit who would ease her worries, arrived in the form of their newborn child.  
  
The moment she laid eyes on Emma, she recognized an old soul, recognized the fire burning in dragon-green eyes.  
  
She knew this would be the one with the heart to love those who needed to be loved, the power to fight those who needed to be fought, and the wisdom to know one kind from the other.

 

* * *

 


	13. Vengeance (Swan I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Fitting for #13, I suppose._

 

* * *

 

Regina despised the swan.  
The lone bird on the duck pond always seemed to warn her prey of her presence.  
  
Henry adored the swan.  
Every day he went to the pond to feed it from his hand.  
  
One day, after Henry had left some crumbs in the snow, she took aim. As the bolt softly clicked into place, the swan again started its clamoring, only this time it was futile, as the white bird itself was the target.  
  
When she released the bow, the bird waddled aside and with horror she saw Henry returning, running into the missile's deadly trajectory.

 

* * *

 


	14. Deliverance (Swan II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _Companion to "Vengeance"_   
> 

 

* * *

 

For all intents and purposes, Emma died in a barn the night she delivered a boy, uttering a curse and a plea. Under glittering dust, both became true, one paying for the other.  
  
Queen Regina had been left barren by her late husband, and that night, like so many moonless nights before, she wished for an heir, a promise on her lips.  
  
Her wish was granted, the promise a debt, when Emma breathed her last word and Henry awoke in a castle.  
  
That morning, staring out the window while cradling the infant, Regina noticed a new swan circling the pond.

 

* * *

 


	15. Penance (Swan III)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _Companion to "Vengeance" and "Deliverance"_   
> 

 

* * *

 

After Henry's death, Regina visited the duck pond every day, sitting down where Henry used to feed the lonely swan.

The bird was always watching her, but only when her tears started falling, it cautiously approached. She had heard it was cursed and indeed she could see the unnatural sad, green eyes.

They mourned together and grew fond of the other who obviously had loved Henry to equal depths.

One morning, overwhelmed by her own grief and sympathy, Regina kissed the bird's crown. 

**

'Despair killed the Queen', they whispered, but a white and a pale gray swan no longer cared.

 

* * *

 


	16. Admission

 

* * *

 

Emma knows.  
  
She's seen children like Regina. She knows Storybrooke is her refuge, her doll house, her own little world. Henry is the puppy being sat down in the middle of it, with a ribbon and a silly hat, expected to play its role and forcefully kept in place when it tries to escape.  
  
Emma has been that lonely child, only her puppy was a worn teddy bear that never tried to escape. She knows what it's like to protect your own small world, yet yearn for a friend.  
  
She takes Henry home to Regina, smiles shyly and says: "Hi."

 

* * *

 


	17. Under the Radar

 

* * *

 

Taking a seat next to Killian, Emma looks across the table at Regina and Robin. She catches Regina's eyes and smiles, and it's not perfect, but she enjoys their public double dates.  
  
The men grin at each other and she wonders once more how nobody even suspects. Stereotypes are a funny thing. They're so ingrained into people that they're adamantly trying to make their observations match their indoctrination.  
  
It's the only explanation she has for people still thinking that two men who spent all their lives surrounded by _jolly_ and _merry_  men would date two women who share a son.

 

* * *

 


	18. Dovetail

 

* * *

 

Emma watches Regina and Henry making cupcakes, singing along to the radio and bumping their hips together during the refrain.  
  
Tears are pricking her eyes, and she doesn't want to be difficult, so she turns away, but Regina catches her. "What's wrong?"  
  
"You're so good at this. I feel... inadequate."  
  
"Good at what?"  
  
"Family. Keeping together - yourself, us, this family. _Loving_. Caring."  
  
Regina smiles indulgently and kisses Emma's lips.  
  
"I want- _need_ \- this, Emma. I want to love and care, but I need someone to love and care for. Let me do this, let me take care of my family."

 

* * *

 

 


	19. Theft

 

* * *

 

Regina found the box in the Charming residence, three months after Emma had left Storybrooke to its happy endings and two months after Robin had left Regina to her grief.  
  
Holding the box she knew immediately what it was, and when she opened it and saw that it contained indeed Emma's heart, she knew Emma had lied when she had allegedly left to find her own happy ending.  
  
She turned the lid and found a note: "Home is where the heart is."  
  
**  
  
When she returned to the mansion, she opened the box and placed her own heart next to Emma's.

 

* * *

 


	20. House Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _ Had to fluff up the bunnies after last night. _

 

* * *

 

"Oh my God, Regina, do something! Rescue me!"  
  
"Miss Swan, you're the savior, save yourself?"  
  
"Goddammit, Regina!"  
  
"They're not poisonous, Emma."  
  
"They're spiders!"  
  
"Like I said, you're the savior."  
  
"You're the one with magic!"  
  
"So are you. Besides, you _know_  - ."  
  
"That's only because my magic is still a bit... unrefined."  
  
"You mean destructive."  
  
"C'mon, can't you just, dunno, poof them away?"  
  
"Very well."

**  
  
When they descend the stairs, Henry is waiting, holding out two jars labeled "Swearing" and "Magic".  
  
"You _know_ the house rules," he grins.  
  
Regina looks pointedly at Emma, and Emma sighs, pulling two bills from her pocket.  
  


* * *

 


	21. Blind

 

* * *

 

Blinded by love and hate she had lost everything, her lover, her father, her son, her home, her heart, her happiness.  
  
She wanted to see how she'd lose her life.  
  
But the mirror needed magic, and magic needed emotion, and with everything lost, she was empty. All that remained was the anger at herself, and with the throw of an apple her reflection shattered into thousand tiny pieces.  
  
Some shards pierced her eyes and came to life, angrily burning the light from them, but with the darkness came clarity and what she saw was not her death but her savior.

 

* * *

 


	22. Raw

 

* * *

 

She wanted to get to the core of it, the heart of _her_ , so she started to tear down walls, crumble defenses, corner her, trap her, slowly plucking petal after hardened petal, unfolding leaf after curled leaf, peeling off burned and bruised skin until only a raw and bloody mess remained.  
  
"I'm not sure that's best." she says.  
  
"We know who you will always be." she says.  
  
She turns her back on the quivering lump, leaves it unprotected and unsaved. She doesn't see it being picked up, doesn't see its purity being cauterized with false promises of love and salvation.

 

* * *

 


	23. Release (Power IV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Power"-AU. Continued in["Power"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4166094/chapters/9403449)_

 

* * *

 

When Emma comes of age, Regina seals it, _celebrates_ it with a kiss.  
  
It's not a chaste kiss of family, nor is it the tentative probing of young lovers. It's hunger and fire and destruction and creation - a promise and a warning as they lay claim on each other and dare anyone to interfere.  
  
Snow disapproves, but it's inconsequential.  
  
Regina thinks of magic as Emma's calloused hands seek purchase on her hips and draw her closer. She smiles into the kiss, because she knows the time of guidance is over: this princess will take power and forge her own destiny.

 

* * *

 


	24. Family (Power V)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Power"-AU. It seems to take on a life of its own, therefore continued in["Power"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4166094/chapters/9403449)_

 

* * *

 

"By the powers, Emma! She cannot be your consort, she's your grandmother!"  
  
"Not by blood. And still she's been even more of a _mother_ than you."  
  
"We loved you!"  
  
"It takes more than love, mother. She has taught me everything I need to know," Emma's eyes glinted darkly, "including love."  
  
"Oh my-" Snow's knees buckled, but she steadied herself. "But y-you won't have an heir."  
  
"We will raise Henry."  
  
"What? I don't-"  
  
"When my brother turns five, we will come and get him, to raise him as heir to the throne."  
  
"You cannot-!"  
  
"Yes, we can, mother, and we will."

 

* * *

 


	25. Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Just a quickie in response to[this](http://i.giphy.com/g55TSQA3ySfny.gif) gif._

 

* * *

 

Emma doesn't understand. She doesn't know how this works, doesn't know the rules of this game.  
  
Regina approaches her in quick strides and suddenly she is so close that Emma can feel her breath on her skin.  
  
She doesn't understand this kind of hostility, doesn't understand the intimidation, the threat when the mayor steps into her personal space while fixing her eyes on Emma's.  
  
Emma doesn't have time to raise her walls against the sudden onslaught. Within an instant her defenses are overrun and Regina stares right into her soul.  
  
She feels naked and exposed, but strangely, she's not afraid.

 

* * *

 

 


	26. Hope

  

* * *

 

 

_Regina wasn’t dead._

Her body lay preserved in a crystal casket in the castle.

The dust of her heart rested in a soft satin satchel, swaying gently on Emma’s hips with every step she took on her travels through portals and realms.

Rumpelstiltskin and Cora were dead, and while her own magic was strong in nature, she knew too little about it in theory.

She knew she had to find the knowledge how to restore a heart, because her salvation did not lay with just any heart, she knew it had to be Regina’s, because only then _Regina wasn’t dead_.

 

* * *

 

 


	27. Payment (Pets I)

 

* * *

 

"Emma! Get your dog out of my closet, this instant!"

Emma sprints up to the bedroom as if lives depend on it. Spencer is utterly smitten with Regina, but the mayor doesn't quite return his affection.

"He's yours, too."

"Not when he's chewing on my Blahniks." Regina points at the mauled shoe. "I expect you to make up for this."

Emma nods and grabs the Airedale, but he doesn't move until Regina slips him a treat.

Emma raises an eyebrow, but when the dog leaves and the door closes, she understands who just got paid and who's about to pay.

 

* * *

 


	28. Persuasion (Pets II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _Follow-up to "Payment"_  
> 

 

 

* * *

 

"No." Regina said with finality.

"Why?"

"It's a cat, Emma."

Emma held up the kitten and turned it around.  
"Pointy ears, fluffy fur, long tail - you may be on to something."

"We can't keep it."

"We kept Spencer."

"Spencer is a purebred-"

"-without papers."

"Still, he wasn't a stray. We can't take in strays."

"You took me in."

"Yes, well, you were kind of cute, almost starved and- "

Emma petted the tabby in her arm and whispered: "Don't worry, two down already."  
The kitten mewed in response, prompting Regina to look at it.

"- Henry liked you."

Emma grinned triumphantly.

"Henry!"

 

* * *

 


	29. Pattern (Pets III)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Good things come in threes, I suppose._   
>  _Companion to "Payment" and "Persuasion"._   
> 

 

 

* * *

 

Regina sinks into the sofa cushions and sighs. Emma and Henry finally left for their camping weekend with David, and she's infinitely thankful she didn't have to join them.

They were supposed to take Spencer with them, but once the dog realized Regina wasn't going, he refused to get into the car.

"Loyal fool," she mutters as he comes up to her and begs to be allowed on the sofa.

One look toward the hallway confirms her suspicion: the cat is curled up in the dog bed.

She can sympathize with _that_ experience and lightly pats the spot beside her.

 

* * *

 


	30. Unseen

 

 

* * *

 

"She died last week," Whale says, and the finality sends her reeling. She knows he's telling her because she's the sheriff and it might be an official inquiry, not because she's a friend or even just someone who might care; she's certainly not family since they all took Henry from _her_.

She knows when she will ask about the cause of death he will cite malnutrition and dehydration, lack of sleep and exhaustion, but she'll simply call it abandonment, because it's the one word she knows for love deprivation, and according to the system _a broken heart_ doesn't kill anyone.

 

* * *

 


	31. Taken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _Inspired by Jen's comments on Dark Swan_   
> 

 

* * *

 

"Tell me, Regina, how is it a sacrifice when I gain so much?"

A sharp fingernail traces her jawline.

"It loves me. I give it a home and it fills all those empty spaces, it tempts me and frees me to give in. Nobody has ever done that for me."

Cold breath grazes her ear.

"How can I not _love_ it?"

There's a stinging bite on her neck, and then Emma's cool lips are on hers. Glowing fingers are burning trails across her skin, and Emma _takes, takes, takes,_ with her lips and her hands, until Regina, too, gives in.

 

* * *

 


	32. A Different Tale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _ Not exactly SQ, but written for Swen. _   
> 

 

* * *

 

 

"I found her!"

"So I've heard." The pawnbroker smiled at the boy. "Miss Swan arrived in Storybrooke, and our little play can begin."

"I told her what you told me."

"Good boy." He patted Henry's cheek, but the boy scowled. "Oh, _baaaaad_ boy," he corrected himself and Henry looked satisfied.

"Is she really my birthmother?"

"Does it matter? She wanted to believe it, and you see, knowing someone's hopes is as powerful a tool as knowing someone's fears."

"As powerful as magic?"

"Far more powerful."

"Will you show me more tricks now?" Henry asked eagerly.

"Why, certainly, my dear _apprentice_."

 

* * *

 


	33. A Darker Tale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _ More Henry and Gold. Pre-SQ. _

 

* * *

 

 

"Master Gold, how will we break the curse? When can we go find my father?"

"Patience, Henry. _We_ don't break it."

"But it's magic, we're the only ones..."

"Tut-tut, not anymore. The savior, remember?"

"She has magic, too?"

"Yes, but only true love's kiss will release it."

"Aww, finding true love takes _forever_."

"There might be another way."

"A faster one?"

"Perhaps. The savior's magic is also released when she dies."

"So Emma needs to be kissed or killed?"

"Hmm-mm. She's quite likable, though. Who would want to kill her?"

"My mother! She's _afraid_ -"

"You're a delightfully quick study, dearie."

 

* * *

 

 


	34. Anniversary

 

 

* * *

 

The tea lights on the mantelpiece are mocking her, their flickering flames mirroring the magic candle's light as it fluttered under her whispers.

 

It's been a year since they'd used the candle to save Henry's life, since Regina had offered hers for his.

It should have been their happy end - just them, Henry and the White-Swan family, no evil queen, no stepmother, no Regina.

 

The price has been a charred hole in her heart.

"It wouldn't be better had it been you," Henry says.

 

Emma thinks of saviors, of guilt and silence, of happy families that aren't.

And she wonders.

 

* * *

 


	35. Legacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Companion to "Anniversary"._

 

* * *

 

She studies the faces of her family, what little is left of it, as they're gathered around the table laden with Emma's favorites.

She lights the candles, whispering the names they bear, Emma's among them.

 

Regina remembers how the magic candle's cold flame refused her when she tried to save Emma, who had traded her own life for Henry's.

 

These lights now are warm and inviting, uniting them in their memory, and her smile is only half-forced when they raise their glasses for a toast.

Their family is the savior's legacy.

It's not happy. But it's not the end, either.

 

* * *

 


	36. Mercy

 

 

* * *

 

When they arrive, the scene is a wasteland, and Regina's mangled body is buried under the rubble.

The medics shake their heads, and it's Snow who lets out a frantic sob.

"Emma! You have to save her," she demands.

But Emma looks at Regina, laid out before her, peacefully, covered by a thin layer of dust and blood.

"No."

Yes, they need Regina, but for all the wrong, selfish reasons.

They let her live, alone, and fight alone, let her love from afar, and think themselves gracious.

There's never redemption, only this final peace, and she'll let her have it.

 

* * *

 


	37. Rock Bottom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Possibly a companion to_ Taken.

 

 

* * *

 

"Shhh, don't cry," Emma put a finger over Regina's lips, "you'll save me." Her smile distorted into a crooked sneer. "In your weak, pathetic need for redemption you will save me."

Regina just shook her head, tears slowly drying on her cheeks. "No Emma, I won't, I _can't_ , not this time."

"But Regina," Emma rasped in a low, velvety tone, "I know you love me, truly."

Regina's breath hitched, but she replied with a steady voice. " _Nobody's_ love can save you from this," and as confusion flitted across Emma's pale face, she added, "you'll have to learn to love yourself."

 

* * *

 


	38. Bad Joke

 

* * *

 

A manhunter, a thief and a princess enter the bar.

For a moment she thinks of escaping through the shadows, but she's The Queen. It's all that's left since magic had vanished, even if the sharply grotesque splinters of Emma Swan cling to her, grating on her dignity and sanity.

She wanted the Dark Swan, an equal, a partner in crime.

But no Dark Swan without the Dark One.

Emma split, and while the Savior took off with Regina, she's stuck with her own brand of Dorothy's posse, heartless, spineless and brainless - useless, except as opener to a bad joke.

 

* * *

 

 

 


End file.
